Love Hate relationship

[GrandmaLee]

Who else out there feels like me? I love my class A motorhome, but I hate the fact that it is so expensive to upkeep...tires, oil changes, gas, just to name a few. We had to put in a new starter and it cost us $1,400.00 !! Just for a starter !! It feels sinful to spend money like that. She is beautiful and comfy and I love her for all that, but I want to go back to a travel trailer. Can anyone empathize?

[xctraveler]

When I came close to the hate part with the first of 3 (so far) coaches, I traded because I saw nothing but trouble ahead. 2nd coach, workhorse chassis gave us 110000 miles over 8 years with normal maintenance 4 times a year and occasional minor glitches. We traded because I wanted a DP and the interior was getting shabby. So far diesel maintenance is no more than the gasser, just 3 fewer stops for oil change etc a year. So the cost at 4x as much as my gasser is the same and the inconvenience of being to service is 1/4 as much.

I too have been ripped off on occasion, but stuff happens and I move on.

[SS_Slacker]

Well I am assuming that the tow alone was a good portion of your bill.

Although in the past 10 years I have had a few larger than I would have liked expenses (radiator, trailing arms, and turbo), I still have a "love love" relationship with the RV. I love it and I believe she loves me. It has taken us all over this great country over the past 10 years and never broke down and never left us stranded. Never had to cancel a camping trip or change our plans in 10 years and 65,000 miles. We have been very lucky and love our motorhome!!!!

[fulltime55]

I "love" my 08 Winnebago Adventurer...for its 3 slides...for its sun shades that roll down at a touch of a switch....for its separate toilet room WITH A WINDOW...for its sleep number bed...for its 10 gal water heater with motoraid...blah..blah...blah,and I "hate" it because its taking me to the poor house with all the chasis repairs...leaking rain water from the front window and running lights that took numerous attempts from Camping World to repair...AND for its being so upside down on the loan that I'll never dig out. Talk about love/hate...let me tell you....

[fulltime55]

GrandmaLee wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Talk to someone that owns a second home for seasonal use about maintenance costs. Add up your house maintenance expenses, then add double the maintenance costs of a second car. Owning a motorhome is like owning a second home and large second car/truck combined, without the yard maintenance and property taxes.

yes true, but with a home..most often you can sell it and make money. MH's devaluate drastically the minute you drive it off the lot.

....good point X2

[sailor_lou]

If you think MOHO ownership is expensive, try a classic car, a boat or worst yet, a plane. Anything of limited quantity that is fun to own will be expensive. Learning how to maintain it yourself will reduce the cost to the point where you will not even think about it any longer. Hopefully the rest of your miles will be trouble free.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy

[WadenCeeJay]

Those stealerships really see people coming. I guess they have to take advantage of who they can, when they can. Changing a starter on a motorhome is an hour task for a shadetree mechanic. There really isn't much easier to do short of an oil change. Very sad there are still places like this out there.

[gone2dadesert]

GrandmaLee wrote:

Yes, she is a gasser...the starter actually only cost $300.00...but the repair shop "claimed" it was extremely labor intensive. And they had to troubleshoot because at first they did not know what was wrong. I just about wanted to jump out of a window...and it's not about whether we could afford it or not...we could have put that type of money to better use if we had to spend like that.

When I first noticed this post, I thought it was about a DP. :E

For a late model F53 starter at NAPA auto parts they cost $50-$70, at a Ford dealership I'd estimate $150 tops. As far as labor, it's about 1 hour to install, the shop labor rates are $120-150/hr?:h

It takes about 10 minutes to install, if you do it yourself. :R

[GrandmaLee]

Goatee wrote:
Talk to someone that owns a second home for seasonal use about maintenance costs. Add up your house maintenance expenses, then add double the maintenance costs of a second car. Owning a motorhome is like owning a second home and large second car/truck combined, without the yard maintenance and property taxes.

The reason I preferred a MH is that if your neighbors are a PITA, you can move the same day.

I hear ya...too funny !!:D

[willald]

Well, when you compare maintenance with a MH to a truck and a TT, its important that you compare 'apples to apples'.

When you step up from a TT and truck to a MH, you frequently step up a bit in terms of components, amenities, etc. Not really fair to compare the maintenance on a high $$ diesel pusher MH with all kinds of 'bells and whistles', to maintenance costs on a fairly simple TT and gasser truck. Of course the MH is going to have higher costs in that case.

If you wanted to keep maintenance costs from going up significantly when trading up, you should have got a more simple gasser MH.

This is one of the reasons when we moved up from a truck and TT to a MH almost 2 years ago, that we avoided the high $$ DPs. We went with a more simple gasser MH built on the F53 chassis. It has same engine our truck had - Ford V10. The components on the coach are very similar too - refrigerator, Air conditioners, furnace, slideouts, awning, gas stove and oven, etc.

So far for us, maintenance expenses with the MH really has not been terribly different than it was with the truck and TT we had before. Now, the extra cost of all the add-ons, modifications, and setting up a 'toad' to tow behind the MH....THAT is where the 'love/hate' thing has been for us, haha. 🙂

[Goatee]

Talk to someone that owns a second home for seasonal use about maintenance costs. Add up your house maintenance expenses, then add double the maintenance costs of a second car. Owning a motorhome is like owning a second home and large second car/truck combined, without the yard maintenance and property taxes.

The reason I preferred a MH is that if your neighbors are a PITA, you can move the same day.

[Two_Jayhawks]

I'm in touch with those feelings.

[GrandmaLee]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Talk to someone that owns a second home for seasonal use about maintenance costs. Add up your house maintenance expenses, then add double the maintenance costs of a second car. Owning a motorhome is like owning a second home and large second car/truck combined, without the yard maintenance and property taxes.

yes true, but with a home..most often you can sell it and make money. MH's devaluate drastically the minute you drive it off the lot.

[GrandmaLee]

BobR wrote:
What is the name and location of that shop?

Towed to the Chevy dealer in Joliet on rt 52 (Bill Jacobs) Since it is a work horse chassis..the chevy repair shop would take it in. We had just purchased this MH in Feb of this year. Took it to both Florida and Minnesota. Then to have it sit out on the driveway for 1 month. Then try to start her. Turn the key and NOTHING!..thought it was the battery. Bought a new battery..turn the key nothing !! Bill Jacobs had to come out to our home to tow it off of our driveway..because we did not know what could be wrong with it and could not start it.

After diagnosing the starter...and a call to us to tell us what the price would be. We had no choice but to get her fixed. They also provided an itemized bill for this service which included the tow. Thank goodness our insurance company reimbursed us for the tow...any way...the itemized list said what everything cost step by step. It is not hard to end up with a $1,400.00 dollar bill.

[Dutch_12078]

Talk to someone that owns a second home for seasonal use about maintenance costs. Add up your house maintenance expenses, then add double the maintenance costs of a second car. Owning a motorhome is like owning a second home and large second car/truck combined, without the yard maintenance and property taxes.

[Lantley]

Fiesta wrote:
Never take anything to a service shop without telling them what to do. Never have a female take anything in. (Not sexist). Always get a firm estimate. Have them stick to it. Never give them all the keys.
And best of all fix what you can. I've saved over a $100,000 in my life time not getting ripped off.

Most of what you say is true.
The shop is only as good as the customers analysis. The more info a customer gives the easier it is the make the repair.
If the customer is vague and unsure the mechanic can have an unnecessary challenge.
To all the back yard mechanics it is much easier to fix your own vehicle because you have a history with it. Fixing an unknown vehicle based on 2nd hand info is much more of a challenge.
Diagnosing can be much harder than fixing the problem.